Towing in 3.5L vs 4.0L

He needs to let it wind, people are afraid to do it for some reason but they are made for it! Wind that truck all the way up! They don't wake up until 3500 anyway.

Before someone replies "hurr during v8 torque" look up a 5.3's peak tq and hp rpm. Sky high. But yeah, the manual doesn't benefit from the torque multiplication of the impeller and stator of an automatic. Your rpm is your power, there's no cheating. The great news is that because you have a manual, you cam work the absolute hell out of it towing and you won't cook it like an automatic.

And expecting anything impressive with 6000lb at low rpm... dude its a tacoma, not a 6.7L cummins. Too big and too high of an expectation.

 

Agree on letting it rip. My work van with 4.8L runs about 150-200 rpm lower than my taco on the same roads. It makes its peak hp at about 5500 rpm and peak torque at about 4500 rpm. Similar rpms at peak hp and tq to the tacos' 3.5L

I dont understand the no low end torque on my taco complaint. Get those rpms high and she will fly.

 

I think because at high RPM's it sounds like its going to fall apart LOL. If it had more low end noise it would be nice. Maybe a nice exhaust upgrade LOL

 

Just shift down then you can stay in each gear all the way up to 5-6 thousand rpm the engine is made for it.

 

You should just get a Tundra. Especially if you have a family.

 

The 2GR 3.5 is built to be usable across multiple Toyota platforms that includes cars, even performance cars. The 1GR 4.0 was primarily a truck engine, so it was designed to have torque at lower RPMs - yes, great for trucks and towing, but not really usable for passenger cars and the like.

That's not a knock on the 3.5 though, you just have to use it differently, like everyone's saying. Reminds me of my Yamaha WRR vs my Kawi KLX300. Same class of enduro, but you have to rev out the Yamaha to get power, while the Kawi makes it's power starting nice and low. Both have their place.

Same with the 3.5, it's a fine engine, and you can rev it out and it'll love it there all day long. Not really so with the 4.0. The 3.5 also uses more modern technology and achieves superior fuel economy.

But this subject has been covered ad nauseam in Tacomaworld for ages.

 

I’ve got a manual as well, first & reverse are way too tall for starting out on any sort of incline while towing.

Once you’re in motion though I feel like the truck does pretty well.

 

if you think the gearing in the M/T is bad try out the Auto! towing 6k isn't very realistic with this truck unless maybe just around town for a few miles.

 

There is a nice solution for that, if you don't need to get into higher speeds right away:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-2wd-low-range-for-the-3rd-gen-tacoma.614743/

 

My only gripe is reverse when towing any load. Geared way to high to back up with any trailer weight.

 

The engine is made properly for high rpms. The stroke is shorter than the bore, low end suffers a bit but you have a higher red line combined with proper gearing makes up for the loss of low end torque.

 

Can't claim anything about the 4.0 or even riding while towing in one. I can tell you the 4.7 in my tundra was a joy to tow with except when filling the gas tank. My 3.5 sure isn't the 4.7, but the 3.5 isn't that bad...at least pulling a 2k lb. load. With the 3.5 tacoma you always know your pulling something. With the 4.7 tundra i sometimes forgot what i was towing was there.

 

At 55mph, you still have 2nd & 3rd gears at your disposal. Think like an automatic, and gear down if you’re flooring it. A torque beast the 3.5l is not. But she likes to rev.

I just towed a 5500lb travel trailer and thought she did pretty well. (Did only get up to 55mph or so, mountainous) Agree with others, reverse is the devil, and starting on an incline requires 4lo. Other than that, i think she did pretty well for such a little truck!

Edit: I am on OVtune 2.0. 87 base at that time

 

like you i came from a 2nd gen and agree with you, the power sucks. i got the 3rd gen for all the new bells and whistles and thank god for the ECT on at start up mod.
you should not have to floor the truck to make it do what the 2nd gen did at half throttle...

 

@Kanween remember that this variable valve timing V6 Hates to be lugged, But Loves to rev! Holding a gear above 3800rpms is the sweet range!

 

That shouldn't be surprising though. 4.7 liter vs 3.5 liter, V8 vs V6, and two different goals in mind during development. I had a 2008 Tacoma with the 4.0 V6 and towing wasn't that different between it and the new 3.5 V6. The 4.0 made peak torque about 800 or so RPM lower and probably had a flatter torque curve. It felt a little better off the line, but wasn't the best in passing situations. The 3.5 feels a little sluggish off the line, but once you get the RPMs up, it'll go just fine.

If I was towing 5-6,000 lbs on a regular basis I would have had to keep the Tundra. I wouldn't want to tow that much weight regularly with either V6. Fortunately, my towing will be more in the 2,500 lb range and I think it tows that very well. We have looked at travel trailers, but we always liked the smaller trailers, like the Jayco Hummingbird and Forest River R-Pod. I think both of those are less than 3,000 lbs dry.

Also, why not shift to 3rd if it wouldn't go above 55mph in 4th? As others have said, the 3.5 is happiest when you let it rev. Though it sounds like you need a full size towing that much weight and needing space for a car seat.

 

@Kanween,

There are forced induction options that are starting to become available that'll drastically increase the torque (especially down low in the rpm range.) If you're buying a different truck you might want to save on the trim level so you can trick it out with a $6k supercharger or turbo setup. Just a thought. Happy hunting.

 

My 6MT with stock everything tows this load up and down this incline just fine.


.

 

OP just get rid of that pathetic little 3.5 V6 and jump into a Tundra if you want to tow that much weight.
Why are you asking a pony to pull the weight meant for a horse?

 

Is that what a hill is called in Florida? I kid, I kid. Cool looking bridge